Choosing a Site for the Garden 
THE ESSENTIALS IN EXPOSURE, CHARACTER OF SOIL AND DRAINAGE CONDITIONS THAT WILL, 
WITH REASONABLE CARE IN CULTIVATION, INSURE SUCCESS IN YOUR GARDEN THIS WEAR 
by M. Roberts Conover 
Photographs by the author and others 
O F all the important matters pertaining 
ings, the choice of the garden spot r 
that subsequent preparation be timely, thi 
•be'decided early in the year. 
Friable soil and good drainage, con¬ 
venience, adequate size, sunlight, and 
shelter from bleak winds, are essen¬ 
tial to the garden’s success. 
The first and main consideration is 
soil. The kinds of vegetables required 
of a garden are many and the drain 
upon the soil so exhaustive that its 
consistency must be such that the 
young plants easily find their nourish¬ 
ment. Clay is too stiff and sand holds 
little fertility. Favorable soil is a com¬ 
position of several kinds. If you mix 
sand, clay and leaf-mould together in 
nearly equal proportions, you will gain 
some idea of the consistency of your 
garden loam. 
If the ground is new to you and 
you are a novice at judging soils, you 
had better get some advice upon the 
subject. Tlje experienced gardener or 
farmer cannot’tell you just how much 
it will yield;, but he knows clay from 
sand and he knows good loam. If he 
tells you the soil needs draining, and 
you can form moist handfuls of it into 
balls that hold tenaciously together, 
turn away from it. It will bake in 
dry weather and be soggy and unwork¬ 
able in rainy spells. Drain it if you 
want to, but plant your garden some¬ 
where else. 
On the other hand, light, sandy soil, 
to the home surround- 
anks first, and in order 
s vital question should 
If the soil, after rain, compresses into a pasty com¬ 
pact mass, turn to another spot for your garden site 
If the compressed ball of earth crumbles apart in 
the hands when released it is good garden loam 
extending down a foot or so, with a substratum of more sand, 
lacks the necessary fertility for a successful garden. But if it is 
a loam with sand, clay and other matter in such proportions that 
it works mealy under the tools, and 
if it has a porous, rather sandy sub¬ 
stratum, you have earth of the right 
consistency for a fine garden. The 
outcome depends upon generous 
manuring, wise planting and right cul¬ 
tivation. 
Where there is a substratum of stiff 
clay and the location is low. recourse 
must be had to artificial drainage in 
order to carry off the surplus water. 
As a source of supply, the garden 
should be near the kitchen and large 
enough to supply the family's needs. 
It iS folly, however, to plan for larger 
space than one can work — it will be 
overgrown and neglected by mid-sum¬ 
mer. A garden requires frequent cul¬ 
tivation and wise supervision, but it 
need not demand more than an hour’s 
work each morning, if one has the 
necessary tools and is thorough. En¬ 
thusiasm is half the battle, and grows 
with achievement. A garden space 
forty feet long and forty feet wide 
kept a family of five persons supplied 
with lettuce, beans, peas, beets, car¬ 
rots, potatoes, radishes, parsley, cab¬ 
bage, summer squash, egg-plant, and 
other vegetables, all summer and fall 
without much attention to second 
crops. It would have done more with 
closer planning. A smaller garden, 
carefully tended, will give surprising 
Don’t make your garden too big; a 40x40 ft. area kept five people 
well supplied, without much attention to second crops 
If you have a hedge or other wind-break to the north, keep a path 
between it and the edge of the garden 
( 157 ) 
